When To See Peak Fall Colors in Iowa in 2018

Fall is probably the most beautiful time of year. Between all of the colors in the trees, the crisp cool air, and the smell of bonfires....it's an amazing season. And we're getting very close to it!

The official first day of fall for 2018 is Saturday, September 22--that's THIS Saturday! Even though it will officially be fall, we won't really see those fall colors at their best for a while. SmokyMountains.com has week-by-week predictions of when we can expect to see the best and brightest colors across Iowa and the rest of the nation. Their fall foliage map shows the progression of the fall colors in the coming weeks. The green areas on the map show no change in coloring, yellow is minimal, gold is patchy, orange is partial, red is near peak, and that purplish wine color is what we're looking for as it shows the peak. Once the map starts turning brown is when the colors will be past their peak.

2018 Fall Foliage Map

As you can see from the maps, it's going to take a few weeks until we are really seeing some color. According to these predictions, Iowa will start seeing fall at it's best October 22-29. Most of Iowa won't see peak fall colors until October 29th.

smokymountains.com

At least we've only got a month to wait! Then it's prime pumpkin spice latte and picture taking season. Do you have photos that show just how beautiful fall in Iowa can be? Share them with us in the comments.